Education Briefs

Education Briefs

The North Carolina Association of Educators, an affiliate of the National Education Association teachers union, has filed suit to halt the state’s successful school voucher program. The union is trying to stop thousands of low-income students from receiving taxpayer money to attend private schools. They claim that since teachers have not received a raise for three years it is wrong to let students leave public schools with financial support to attend school elsewhere. The president of Parents for Educational Freedom of North Carolina, said, “This lawsuit is nothing more than a desperate attempt by opponents of parent choice to cling to an unacceptable status quo for low-income students to stay in schools that are simply not working for them.” (High Point Enterprise, 12-12-13)

“Catholic Is Our Core” was recently launched by The Cardinal Newman Society in response to concerns that Catholic schools are adopting inferior Common Core standards and abandoning the principles that have kept Catholic education successful. Presenting a series of papers by experts on the Common Core and its potential impact on schools, the website voices the concerns of many educators and parents, stating, “The Cardinal Newman Society is concerned that adoption of the Common Core at this time is premature. Worse, it may be a mistake that will be difficult or impossible to undo for years to come.” The site states the most troubling aspect about Catholic schools adopting Common Core is that parents were not consulted.

Members of the American Social Studies Association (ASSA) voted in December to join anti-Israel groups to boycott Israeli universities. ASSA members voted in favor of a resolution that signals solidarity with Palestinians and open hostility toward Israel. At least 45 colleges, including Harvard and Yale, have condemned the ASSA boycott and support continuing academic interaction with Israeli universities.